Lost, not Found
by twice the trouble
Summary: At the end of the battle with Kadaj, Cloud is sucked through a portal and ends up in the future. The problem is, every one thinks he's dead. The bigger problem? He doesn't even know he's Cloud.
1. prologue

Hey everyone, here's something I've been working on. I'm not sure if I'm going to get to continue it or not with the other stories I'm either posting or preparing to post. But the beginning part was something I'd thought some of you would enjoy. Don't worry, I'm not ignoring my other projects, this was just a plot bunny attack that I couldn't ignore.

Hope you enjoy,

Trouble 1

ps. I do not own the characters, they belong to who ever really does own them. Which is not me.  
>~~~~~~~~<p>

A shot rang out, disturbing the peace. Cloud's body jerked involuntarily as pain coursed through his chest. He dropped to his knees, hissing as he grabbed his wound. His hand came away covered in blood as it soaked into his sweater. From what he could see, it was worse than the wound Sephiroth gave him not five minutes before. Both were bad, but he could tell this one went straight through his heart. He didn't have much time.

He climbed to his feet, spinning around to face the culprits. The sound was muffled, but he could see that the last two remnants were still alive, fighting the effects of the rain. They were trying to say something but Cloud couldn't make out what. They were at their last moments as much as he was. But if he didn't finish them off himself, someone else would get hurt before they would finally die.

Cloud kept a firm grip on his sword and rushed towards the men as they charged their materia. There was a giant blast as over a dozen globes of materia all went off at the same time.

He wasn't sure what happened after that. He felt weightless, as if he were stuck in a void. But despite all this he could still feel himself moving, as if he was being pulled by a current. It was relaxing, like nothing bad could ever happen as long he kept moving; that is, until he heard his name.

"Cloud!" It was Aerith, or at least he thought it was her. It sounded like her, but not. The voice sounded distant, and scared. "Zack, grab him!"

Something attached to his leg, jerking him to a stop. The current started flowing past him instead of with him. He felt terror at the thought of drowning in it. Cloud tried to struggle, unsure whether it was against the current or against whatever had his ankle. But no matter what he tried, he didn't move.

"I got ya Cloud," he heard another voice say. It was Zack.

"Don't let go! If he goes through the hole who knows what will happen to him!"

They continued talking, Aerith and Zack, but the current was increasing, making whatever it was rush by him so fast that he couldn't make out much of what they were saying.

"…a rip in…" Aerith said at one point.

"…let go, I promise," Zack said at another.

But he couldn't make out any other words, the current was becoming too strong, too loud. In fact it was starting to hurt, a lot. Each piece that went by felt like it was cutting his skin or burning it. He couldn't stand it. He wanted to scream, to yell, to rip his ankle out of Zack's grasp but he couldn't move. He was frozen.

But then it stopped. No, Cloud started moving. With the tether around his ankle gone he was free to travel with the current, not fight against it. Everything around him quieted down and became calm again.

"I'm sorry Cloud," Aerith whispered, but somehow he could hear her again. "Be safe."

With those final words, Cloud drifted away, feeling more at peace than ever before.  
>-x-<p>

The funeral was held only days after the battle had taken place. When the group had finally gotten out of the airship to where Cloud was, there hadn't been much left of him. With heavy hearts they gathered what they could and made sure he had a proper funeral.

It was a nice ceremony that was held in what most now call Aerith's church. The Shinra Corporation paid for a top of the line casket for him, saying that even an ex-soldier deserved the best.

It seemed like the whole city had come to show their respects. Many whispered thanks to the coffin before offering they're sympathies to Cloud's makeshift family. Apparently they had heard of his bravery and wished to show their gratitude, even if just a bit, to the fallen hero.

It was a somber event, practically silent with everyone afraid to speak in anything but a whisper. Tifa spent most of the time thanking the visitors while Marlene hung off her dress as if letting go would make her disappear too. Denzel had been there for a while, standing silently next to them, but he had to go outside with Barrett after a bit. He had gone from not saying anything for days, to shouting at the coffin, screaming that "you promised to come back! You said you'd come back and you didn't!" When it was clear he wasn't going to stop, Barrett picked up the boy and took him outside so not to disturb the service anymore.

The rest of the team was there as well, sitting on whatever pews were left in the building, this included the few of Shinra's men that had been involved in fighting Kadaj. Red XIII, Rufus, Tseng, and Elena sat quietly, while the others were trying not to bawl too loudly. But, there was one more missing from this melancholy band, making the rest of them even more stressed. This was Vincent.

When the whole event was finally done, they all helped bring the decorated box outside to be set on a pre-prepared pyre. They lit it as the group stood around it, watching the small flames grow bigger. Tifa glanced off towards the side to see Vincent standing a while off. He had his arms crossed, staring at them, not the casket. He glanced at it once only to shake his head and turn to walk away.

Tifa unwound herself from Marlene's grip, promising to be back before darting over to catch up with him.

"Vincent, why weren't you at the funeral?" Tifa asked, making the dark haired man stop.

"Was I supposed to be?" He glanced back at her, his red eyes showing no trace of sarcasm.

"Yes! It was a funeral Vincent! Cloud's funeral. Didn't you want to say goodbye?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you come?"

"I would have liked to say my farewells to Cloud, not whoever you found in the rubble."

"That WAS Cloud."

"No, it wasn't."

"Who else could he be? There was nothing left of the remnants and no one else was close enough to get caught in the blast. So, tell me who else it could be?" she demanded, her arms waving around.

"I don't know. But that's not Cloud."

"Vincent, you can't keep denying this. Cloud's dead."

"He might be, but he's not the body you're cremating right now." He turned to walk away.

"It has to be him!"

"If it is, then where's the Fusion sword, or Fenrir? Both went missing during the blast and haven't been found," he said without turning around. He began walking away slowly, leaving her to think on what he said, but Tifa didn't need any time.

"How do you know?" she asked, after he went a couple steps. Vincent stopped, giving her his attention once again. "You seem so sure that's not him even with evidence that's only circumstantial. How do you know?"

He stared at her for a moment before reaching into his pouch and pulling out several six by eight pieces of paper. He flipped through them before handing her one. She gave him a funny look before glancing at the sheet, almost dropped the paper in the shock. It was a photograph of a tall, blond man talking with a shop owner, probably about his wears. He didn't seem to know the picture had even been taken, not unlike a surveillance photo

"I acquired these yesterday from a reliable source of mine. He sent me about half a dozen of them, spanning six or eight years."

"That's…Cloud?"

"Yes. I don't know where, or more precisely, when, but that's him."

"Why's he dressed so strangely?" she asked quietly. She sat there studying the green armored vest he wore over a long sleeved, black shirt with three white stripes on each arm. "He doesn't like sleeves."

"Who knows?" she went to hand the photo back but Vincent waved it away as he put the rest in his pouch. "Keep it; you'll probably want the proof."

"I'm going to be gone for a while," he continued, as Tifa looked back at the photo. "I'm leaving to find him. It will take some time, but when I do, I'll bring him back."

"Thank you." His metallic footsteps beginning to leave made her ask a question she wasn't going to ask, but didn't think she'd get another chance to. "Who's your source? Why do you trust him so completely?"

"It's relatively easy to trust yourself."

Tifa looked up in confusion, only to find he had already left. She let out a sigh as she turned back towards the others. Looking at them all surrounding a growing flame made her think that it was useless. Cloud was alive, so holding a large funeral for him just didn't seem right anymore. But, then again, someone _did_ die. Those remains used to be someone, they might not have been Cloud, but they used to be alive too. And whoever it was, deserved to be mourned.

So she put the picture in her pocket and headed back. She wasn't sure if she was going to tell them, it would just get their hopes up and in the event that he didn't come back… No, she would tell them, after the funeral. She had to trust in Vincent, trust that he would bring him back safe and sound. So she would tell them, if only to keep herself believing this too.

_Come back soon…Cloud.  
><em>-x-_  
><em>

"Huh?" Minato stated, being startled out of his daydreams.

"I said, there's a cloud," Shikaku said, pointing at the sky. "Yoshino said that I wouldn't find any tonight. When I get home, I'm definitely telling her she was wrong."

"Seriously Shikaku, how drunk are you?" Minato asked with a chuckle.

He, Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza were lounging on one of the Nara's cloud watching spots as they passed a bottle of saki between them. Each looked a little ruffled from getting kicked out of the bar earlier in the night.

"Drunk enough to know I'm right."

"That didn't even make sense."

"You don't make sense."

"Come on Minato, you know better than to argue with a drunk Nara," Inoichi stated as he took a swig from the bottle and handed it to Choza. "If you didn't before, we getting kicked out of the bar because of him should have fixed that."

"Yeah, I know. It's amazing how fast he loses his sense of logic, though. We weren't even there for an hour. The first time all four of us are in the village long enough to celebrate becoming fathers and the Nara decided to pick a fight."

"We found out what we're having today," Shikaku said, suddenly changing the subject like drunken people do. "We're having a boy."

"Us too," said Choza happily.

"Kushina doesn't want to know till she has it. But I think she's hoping for a clone." Minato said with a sigh.

"Kami help us," Inoichi mumbled. "At least then my baby girl would have someone to play with."

"You're having a girl?"

"Yeah, but I was hoping for a boy."

"It's not like it matters," Shikaku said as he got the bottle. "You Yamanaka men keep your hair so long you all look like chicks."

"No! Our hair makes us supper manly," Inoichi said, finally showing his real sobriety.

"Of course, of course," Minato said with a sly smirk. "It's very manly, as long as you all don't start wearing dresses on us, that is."

"I wouldn't talk if I were you, Namikazi-_chan _," the Nara taunted, passing the bottle to the now wincing hokage.

"That wasn't voluntary. I was blackmailed and you know it," he defended, pretending to take a swig before passing it on down the line.

"Blackmail or no blackmail, half of the ninjas in Konoha know their hokage went around town dressed in a wig and his wife's kimono for an entire day."

"The other half are still trying to figure out where your hot cousin lives," Inoichi said with a laugh. "If I remember correctly, you made a very convincing girl."

"That's true. Sad but true. Even Jiraya tried to hit on me, before he knew it was me."

The three drunken ninjas laughed as their leader pouted indignantly. As they quieted down, Minato closed his eyes, relishing the moment. He was having a good time with his friends for what was probably the last time before they took on their new responsibilities as fathers.

"What are you four doing?" a new voice rang out.

Minato opened his eyes to look at the newcomer only to see an image that he knew couldn't be there. It was a black haired man that he'd never seen before laying in a combination of mud and blood. He was grinning despite the many holes he had going through his abdomen.

"_You are my living legacy," _he said offering the sword to him.

Then, just as quick as it started, the image was gone, replaced with an annoyed Fugaku staring down at them.

"We're just celebratin'," Shikaku slurred. Minato shook his head a bit to get rid of what was left of the image as he continued. "We're all gonna be dad's for the first time so celebrating is mandatory."

"You found this out months ago. Why are you 'celebrating' now?"

"Are you jealous?" Inoichi asked with a grin. "You know we would'a invited you but you got started on the whole father thing earlier. This was a first father's meeting. Why are you here anyways?"

"It's eleven o'clock at night, idiots. There's a sound ordinance in effect that you are clearly breaking."

"Oh so you're here as a police officer," Inoichi asked. "Why didn't you send one of your lackeys?"

"They were scared the hokage would make their life a living hell if they tried to arrest him," Fugaku said flatly. "I, of course, have no such notions."

"Are you threatening us?" Shikaku asked.

"It wasn't clear? Well then, if you all don't go home right now, you'll spend the night in a cell. Is that clear enough for you?"

Shikaku opened his mouth to say something that, no doubt, would have ended him in jail. Therefore Minato was forced to save the day by speaking first.

"Perfectly clear Fugaku-san. I'm sorry we were such a bother," he said diplomatically. He climbed to his feet and continued. "I'll make sure these three get home without stopping off somewhere else to cause mischief."

"The Nara and Akamichi complexes are a bit out of your way, am I right?"

"A bit, yes," he answered as he started pulling each of his friends off the ground. "But it's not a big deal."

"I'll accompany those two if you make sure Yamanaka-san gets home," Fugaku offered, helping pull Shikaku to his feet since he was giving Minato a hard time. "You seem sober enough to get yourself home in one piece."

"Ok, thanks."

"It's on my way." He threw a complaining Shikaku over his shoulder and began leading the half-awake Choza back to his home. "Have a good night, hokage. Don't let your wife kill you when you get home."

"We shall see."

Fugaku shook his head, not believing the man as he left.

"Come on, Inoichi. Let's get you home."

"Ok, if you insist," she said with a sigh, and they went on their way. They walked down the quiet road for a while until Inoichi spoke up again. "Hey, Minato, what happened back there?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, hoping he wasn't talking about that image.

"Well, when Fugaku came you made a funny face then you shook your head. So you saw something, right? Right?"

"Fine, I saw something, but I can't really explain it."

"Come on, I know you've been seeing things for a while now."

"How?"

"You always look surprised at random moments. No one else has noticed but I'm a Yamanaka and we know the mind. Particularly when the mind isn't working like it should," Inoichi said, sounding oddly serious for a drunk man. "Whatever's making you see these things can't be very good. Maybe I can help?"

"Help with what?"

"Well, first with finding out why you're having them, and then figuring out how to fix it. But first I have to know what they're about or I doubt I can help much."

"Alright, it's not much, usually just images of people," Minato said after a moment of indecision. "The strange thing is that I've never seen them in my life. They look like real people and, at least in the last one, they sound like real people, but I don't know from where."

"You said that one of them talked?"

"Yeah, only today though. It was a man with spikey black hair saying something along the lines of 'you are my living legacy'."

"Weird. And you never met him." Minato shook his head. "And that's the first one to speak."

"That's what I said."

"Weird." Inoichi was quiet while his intoxicated mind tried to work around the alcohol. "I should check you out. I can see what's wrong with my jutsu. Probably."

Inoichi raised his hands, about to form the hand sign needed, when Minato stopped him.

"Not now."

"Why not?"

"You're drunk. I don't want to risk the possibility of you going into my mind and thinking it was a good idea to change things. For all I know, I could think I was the Sage of Six Paths once you're done in there."

"Alright, I won't do it right now. But soon, I want to see you soon."

"After the baby's born."

There was silence for a moment as Inoichi thought.

"Mine or yours."

"Mine," Minato said with a sigh. "I don't want to worry Kushina about this while she's still pregnant. It will just stress her out and that's not good for the baby. So I'll only come see you after the baby's born."

"I'll write it on my calendar."

"Inoichi, you don't have a calendar."

"Oh," he said quietly before picking up his volume once again. "Minato we need to stop and buy a calendar."

"It's eleven o'clock at night, no one is selling calendars right now."

"But I need a calendar."

"No, you need to go home and sleep off the liquor."

"I guess," he mumbled. "Wait, why did you tell me all that now if I'm drunk? That's awfully suspicious."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do, you told me about your images now so that I wouldn't remember them."

"You brought up the subject Inoichi, not me."

"Oh yeah, I guess you're off the hook then."

Minato hid a grin as they went back to walking in silence. It was too easy to keep Inoichi guessing when he was like this. Of course he was right, the only reason he admitted any of it was that his friend was drunk and unlikely to remember anything; contrary to Minato who was barely buzzed. He did have a few drinks but not nearly as much as the others. He was hokage after all, getting plastered wasn't something you could do without putting the whole village in jeopardy.

"Hey Minato," Inoichi called out as they got to his house. "Why did I want a calendar again?"

"Who knows? Maybe you'll remember when you wake up tomorrow."

"Yeah, maybe. Night Minato." Inoichi waved lazily as he walked towards his house.

"See you tomorrow."  
>-x-<p>

Minato snuck in the door, not wanting to disturb anyone else in the apartment complex. All the lights were on, letting Minato know that his wife was still up. Or, was still up. He found her passed out on the couch in front of the television. He chuckled softly, wondering if he should just leave her alone, she had such a hard time sleeping with the her due date just around the corner that it would be a shame to wake her. But he knew that if she woke up on the couch alone he'd get the riot act the next morning.

"Kushina-chan, I'm home," he whispered, shaking her shoulder slightly. "Wake up dear."

"Don't wanna," she murmured softly.

"You can't sleep on the couch all night."

"Yes, I can."

"If I let you sleep here, you'll be mad at me in the morning."

"Carry me," she demanded, peeking at him with one eye.

"What?"

"Carry me to bed."

"You're pregnant Ku-chan, if I dropped you…"

"Then don't drop me."

He sighed, shaking his head as he bend down to pick her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder as they made their way to the bedroom.

"Have a good time?"

"Yeah, Shikaku got us kicked out of the bar," he told her.

"Again?"

"Yep, and Fugaku busted us for disturbing the peace shortly thereafter."

"That's why you're home early," Kushina mumbled as she closed her eyes again.

"Yeah."

Minato set her on her side of the bed and pulled the sheet over her before changing into his pajamas. He climbed into bed next to his wife, allowing her to snuggle up close to him.

"Good night my love," she whispered, making Minato's mind jump again to an unknown face.

This time it was a woman with long black hair, dressed in a leather outfit as she tended a bar. She looked to where he was standing at the bottom of some stairs.

"_Good night, Cloud."_

Minato shook the image away before pulling Kushina closer.

"Good night."


	2. Chapter 1

Hey everyone, I really didn't expect to keep going with this since I have several others I wanted to work on, but here's the next chapter. Apparently I've been watching way too much Advent children and game run troughs. I've watched the movie about ten times now since I found it a month ago. Seriously, I'm obsessed.

Truthfully, I didn't expect to get so many reviews either. So thank you for your feed back! And so, here's a new chapter. Relatively quick I might add. It usually takes me a month or two if it's not already written.

I hope you enjoy,

Trouble 1

ps. Mini rant

Fyi, I'm personally leaving Minato without the other half of the Kyuubi. Naruto's tough, he can keep the whole byju under wraps just as his mother did before him.

Mini Rant over. Please continue.  
>~~~~~~~~<p>

**CHAPTER 1**

**Memory**

"Who are you?" Minato demanded, glaring at the masked man in front of him. "Why are you doing this?"

"Do I need a reason?" he asked, clasping chains around his wrists while the Kyuubi's rampage could be heard in the background. "Even if I _did _, I doubt I would tell you."

Minato glared at him, gripping the three pronged kunai in his hand before readying himself. The masked man charged at him just as Minato began his attack. But neither hit landed as the other man fazed through him, catching the Forth Hokage in his chain for a moment before he flashed to his kunai.

Minato spun around to face him, his mind quickly calculating what was needed to defeat this man. It had to be quick, he deduced, neither of them had the time for a long drawn out battle.

"I'm impressed, how did you get this speed?" the other man asked, his lone eye glaring at him.

The masked man was then replaced with another. A cold man with long silver hair. Minato and he seemed to be locked in a sword battle.

"_Where did you find this strength?"_

He blinked away the newest in the line of the increasingly frequent visions, not having time to ponder it at the moment.

Minato stared at his opponent for a bit before finally deciding on a plan. He charged, throwing his lone kunai at the man while charging his Rasengan. As expected, the other fazed through it and went to grab his shoulder. As soon as the fingertips made contact with his jacket, Minato flashed to his kunai and shoved the sphere of glowing chakra into his back. While he was at it, he placed a Hiraishin seal on him before flashing away again.

It took him a while to get up, but Minato waited before putting phase two into action. He had just started to say something witty when the Fourth flashed to him and placed a contract seal on his person and leaving the premises before the Uchiha could say a word.

-x-

He appeared in his son's room, looking over at his wife and child that somehow fit comfortably in the boy's crib. Now that he thought about it, he probably didn't have to make the crib that big, but he wasn't a carpenter so he was just glad that it stayed together.

Minato walked over to it, seeing that the pair seemed to have dozed off in the short time he was gone. There was a crash outside, sounding closer than he thought it should be. He sighed as it reinforced what he was going to have to do.

"Kushina-chan," he said softly, brushing a bit of hair out of her face. She slowly opened her eyes to look at him.

"Is it over?" she asked, her voice horse.

"Not quite. The Kyuubi isn't being controlled anymore, but it's still on a rampage."

"It has to be resealed." He nodded even though it wasn't really a question. "Let's go."

She started pushing herself up, but her shaking arms soon gave out forcing Minato to catch her.

"No, Kushina, not you."

"But there's no one else," she said confused. "It's too powerful to be sealed in an object or anyone other than an Uzumaki so I'm the only…"

Kushina stopped short, her eyes going wide as she realized what he was planning.

"No, not Naruto. You can't be…"

"I'm sorry. There's no other choice."

"Of course there's another choice!" she exclaimed desperately. "Just seal it back in me, I'll take it with me when I die and…and it won't be a problem anymore."

"It will come back and need to be sealed again in a few years. Naruto's the only option," he told her simply. "I don't want to do this anymore than you do. It will be tough for him, especially without us to help him. But he's strong; he'll be able to handle it."

"Without us? But you're…you're going to use that seal aren't you?" He nodded in response. "But Minato…"

"There's no other seal strong enough, you know that. The First's wife used the same seal on you."

Kushina turned away, opting to gaze at the boy in question. Naruto didn't even twitch as she ran a hand gently through his strangely thick hair.

"Alright," she relented in a small whisper. "But I'm going too. I'm not going to stay here and wait to die. I want to go down fighting. Is that too much to ask?"

"No," he said just as quietly. "Not at all."

He put down Kushina and went to grab Naruto when she spoke again.

"Carry me?"

"Ku-chan—"

"Please, just…one last time."

"Alright."

He picked up the sleeping bundle and gave him to her before scooping the both of them up and flashed to a clearing about three miles away. Minato set them down and looked around for a moment.

"This will have to do," he mumbled before turning to his wife. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go get the guest of honor."

"I'll be here," she answered as he disappeared.

-x-

Minato appeared next to the Third who was decked out in battle armor.

"How's everything going?" he asked, making the old man jump.

"Why do you have me sealed?"

"Convenience, now what's going on?"

"We can't get him contained," he answered, turning back to the battle before them. "He's just too strong for us."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the rest," Minato said as he threw a three pronged kunai above the Kyuubi.

He saw Sarutobi's startled face right before he flashed to it. Before he had even started to fall, he bit his thumb and ran through several hand signs, summoning Gambuta. When gravity finally kicked in, the Chief toad landed on the Kyuubi's head while Minato landed on his.

"Minato! What the hell-"

"Just hold him down for a moment!" Minato shouted as he started focusing his chakra.

"I can't hold a byju!" The Kyuubi started struggling beneath the toad, making Gambuta fight to keep him down.

"Just a bit longer!"

A couple seconds later, he had finally accumulated enough chakra. Not wasting any more time, Minato jumped off the toad and landed on the enraged fox's nose, his palm's flat beneath him. A split second later the man and the byju disappeared in a blinding flash.

-x-

Minato was starting to think that he might have forgotten something when they appeared in the clearing he had chosen. As soon as they landed, the Kyuubi threw him off his nose, sending the Forth Hokage flying into the clearing. He affixed himself to a tree in time to see a large paw begin to swing at him.

Restrains. He forgot the damn restraints.

Before Minato could figure out what to do, several dozen golden chakra chains shot out of the ground, pinning the beast in place and stopping his attack. He turned to look at Kushina to see that she had put Naruto down in order to send those very chains into the ground.

"Why so…surprised? I told you…I'm going down…fighting, damn it," she said around panting breaths.

"Thanks," Minato said with a smile. "I'll place a barrier seal before we get started."

"Hurry up then. I don't…have all night."

He nodded, pulling out a piece of paper and affixed it to the ground then putting some chakra into it. There was a slight woosh as the barrier spread out to the desired size. There, now they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Done," he said then hurried towards his family. He scooped up his son before kneeling down next to his wife. "Can you move?"

"Yeah," she slowly climbed to her feet, using Minato for support. "Let's do this."

After making sure his wife was stable, he shifted Naruto to one hand and pulled out a summoning seal with the other. Putting a bit of chakra through it, I dropped it to the ground, making a sealing platform appear.

"You carry that around?" she asked, an incredulous look on her face. Minato nodded, placing the boy in the center of it. "Why?"

"Convenience," he answered as Kushina shook her head. "I'm going to start now."

Minato unwrapped Naruto a bit, making the little one stir at the cold air. He wanted to wrap him back up nice and tight but he knew he had to have access to his stomach in order to place the seal.

He began going through the hand seals, deciding that there wasn't really enough time to draw it on like he would have normally done. The seal was a complicated one, something like a cross between Shiki Fujin and Hakke no Fuin Shiki, a beautiful sample of original Uzumaki talent. It was designed by the First's wife to hold the Kyuubi before it was ever locked away in a human. But it took a lot of chakra from the sealer, and their soul as payment.

He was almost done with the seals when Kushina dropped to her knees coughing. Minato immediately stopped what he was doing and rushed to her side.

"Ku-chan, are you-" before he could finish, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.

It was the Kyuubi. He somehow got a paw untangled and was taking a swipe at Minato. No, not him. Naruto! Without any thought, he and his wife dived for their son in a last ditch effort to protect him. A moment later a claw passed through the both of them, skewering their chests.

Minato saw flashes of two or three images of a long katannas doing the same before they faded. Minato gasped for breath but very little came.

"Damn," he muttered before coughing up a good amount of blood. "Kushina…I'm going to…have to redo the signs. If you want to…say anything, do it now…"

"Minato. Seal my chakra too. I want to help him later, if he needs it," she said to him.

"Of course."

Minato turned back to his signs, his shaking hands finding it harder to form the right ones. But that was alright, it gave Kushina a little more time to tell Naruto to eat his vegetables and to avoid Jiraya at all costs.

"I'm done," he whispered, once the seals were complete.

"I took all the time, didn't I."

"That's alright." He turned his attention to his son, a small smile spreading across his face. "Don't have much…to say anyways. Just listen to your mother."

With those last words, he reached his hand out to touch the boy's stomach. As his fingers touched a seal appeared and started to suck the Kyuubi into itself. He kept his hand on the seal until the last of its chakra was pulled in. He then wound the last bit of Kushina's into the seal as well before locking it for good.

Once the byju was gone, there was nothing holding up the two parents. They both tumbled to the ground, Kushina's body already lifeless while Minato's wasn't far behind.

He lay in the grass staring up at the sky for a bit watching the clouds pass by. Minato could hear Naruto faintly crying but couldn't do much about it. He blinked slowly, finding the silver haired man in the sky when he opened them again.

"_I will never be a memory."_

Minato closed his eyes once again, letting the dark finally take over.

-x-

A week after the accident, a nurse was checking in on her many patients. The next patient on her list was none other than the Hokage. It was a miracle he survived the attack, especially with the huge hole in his chest. Everyone was sure he was gone once the byju was sealed. Yet against all odds, he was still alive when the barrier seal failed. He was healing surprising fast too, even without the medical treatment. At this rate, despite the amount of damage he sustained, he could easily end up without any scars to show for it.

When the nurse entered the room she was surprised to see said patient awake and sitting up. His eyes turned on her as she walked over and picked up his chart.

"Hokage-sama, glad to see you awake," she said happily, taking a quick glance at the clipboard before putting it back. "Truthfully, we didn't think you'd be up for another few weeks."

She smiled at him. He looked a bit confused, which made his face seem almost child-like in appearance. Maybe child-like wasn't the word. No, it was more like innocence, close to child-like but not quite so naïve. After all he seemed weary enough, despite just waking up.

"How are you feeling?"

"Um, alright, I guess," he answered cautiously.

"That's good," she said happily. "Surprising considering all that happened, but still good. I'll go let the doctor know you're awake and we'll go from there."

She turned around to head out of the room when he spoke again.

"Excuse me." She looked over her shoulder at him, indicating for him to continue. "You said something happened. What was it?"

"You don't remember?" He shook his head, making her turn fully towards him again. "The Kyuubi attacked and you fought it. You won, but were seriously injured. And…you're wife…she didn't make it."

"Wife?" He looked confused once again. The nurse stared at him, mirroring his expression before cautiously asking something.

"Hokage-sama, how much don't you remember?"

"I don't know. What am I supposed to remember?"

"Stuff like your age, your childhood, your family. Please tell me you remember something."

"I'm sorry, I don't," he answered with a shake of his head. "I don't remember any of it."

"Not even your name?"

"No, not even that."  
>-<p>

Translatitons:

(only for ones I had to look up. I trust you know Hiraishin and Rasengan)

Shiki Fujin- Dead Deamon Consuming Seal

Hakke no Fuin Shiki- Eight Trigrams Sealing Style


	3. Chapter 2

Hey everyone, it's me again. Thanks for all the reviews. I know the last chapter was kinda repetitive since everyone seems to start there, but I had no other place to begin that wouldn't confuse all you guys. If you noticed I did make it a bit different, I never like taking things word for word because I think it just takes the fun away from writing it. That and a lot of the time repetition is just boring to read. Anyways, here's the next chapter.

Hope you enjoy,

Trouble 1  
>~~~~~~~~<p>

**Chapter 2**

"Sarutobi-sama, I really need to know what's going on here," Inoichi said as the Third ushered him down the hospital hallway at a quick pace. "All you told me was that I have a new patient with severe memory lost."

"I didn't want to say anything in public," the Third replied. "They don't need to know about this."

"Know about what? Who's my patient?" They came to a stop in front of a closed door as Sarutobi turned motioned towards it.

"Take a look yourself."

Curiously, Inoichi peaked in the window to see Minato sitting in the bed.

"But that's…"

"He can't remember anything," he told Inoichi simply. "I thought that since you two were relatively close, you'd have a better chance of helping him than anyone else in your clan."

"I'll see what I can do," he answered, still staring through the window. "Amnesia patients are…difficult. They almost never fully recover their memories. Even if they do, they are often never the same afterwards."

"I'm just asking you to do what you can."

Inoichi nodded grimly as he reached for the doorknob only to hesitate.

"Isn't there anyone else?" he asked the Third, not turning to face the other man. "I'm not sure I want to see him like this. He was one of my closest friends..."

His voice trailed off unsure what he was going to say next.

"I'm sorry, but you're the only one I trust to keep this quiet. If word gets out that the hokage has memory loss there will be chaos and Minato doesn't need that right now."

"Alright," he said with a sigh.

Inoichi clasped the doorknob and took a deep breath before opening the door with a smile on his face.

"Hello," he greeted, struggling to keep from saying the other man's name. It was important that Inoichi didn't give him any information about himself before he had a chance to assess him. "Do you know who I am?"

"Uh, no. Sorry," Minato replied in a confused tone.

"That's alright." He smiled again to reassure him as he tried to emotionally detach himself from the situation. "My name is Yamanaka Inoichi. I'm here to help you with your memory problem. How are you feeling today?"

"Alright, I guess."

"That's good. Do you remember anything?"

"Not really."

"Not really?" he questioned, sitting in the only chair in the room. "Does that mean you might remember something but you don't want to say?"

Minato didn't answer, opting to stare at the other blond nervously for a while before Inoichi figured out the problem.

"If you're worried I'll tell someone else, I won't. I'm a mental health professional so whatever is said between us is strictly confidential," Inoichi told him with a smile. "I'm going to have to give a report to my superior but if you don't want me to tell them about something, I won't."

He nodded looking a little relieved at this, but didn't offer any information.

"So, do you remember anything?"

"Sometimes," he finally relented.

"Like what?" Inoichi asked, waiting as Minato thought for a moment.

"Calendars."

"You remember seeing calendars?"

"No, talking about them. With you, I think. You wanted to buy one." Inoichi had to think for a moment before he could remember that part of their drunken escapades a month ago.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot about that," he said, smirking as he scratched his head. "But didn't you say that you didn't know who I was?"

"I don't. I just remember you from the calendars."

"Is that all you remember?"

"No, I there's other stuff too."

"Like what?"

"I-I'm not sure. It's…confusing."

"How so?"

"I don't know, they just don't make sense." He turned away from his guest to stare out the window.

"I guess talking isn't going to work then, will it," Inoichi said, standing back up. "I have a jutsu that might be able to help you make sense of it all. It allows me into your mindscape so I can see exactly what's going on. I'll use it if you want."

"Will it help?"

"I think so, sometimes an outside perspective does wonders." He still looked a bit apprehensive at the thought of someone invading his mind. "It's a simple jutsu really, it won't even hurt."

"Alright then," he said after another pause. "If it will help."

"Ok then." Inoichi gave him a comforting smile before dragging his chair closer to his comrade. "You might as well get comfortable; when it starts we'll both go unconscious."

"Ok."

Inoichi sat in the chair and leaned forward. He placed his fingertips on Minato's temples and closed his eyes as he collected his chakra. As soon as there was enough chakra, he released it, silently beginning the jutsu.

With a jerk, he felt his consciousness being pulled out of his core and travel grudgingly down his arms. It took a bit of work to enter the other man's mind, for some reason it felt more guarded than he thought it would be. But he was able to get through, landing in a strange looking landscape.

Everything around him was grey, the many tall building, the ground, the sky, everything. It looked like an abandoned city where plants never grew, or could never grow. Half of it was in ruins, the other half didn't looked to be that far behind. Out of all the minds he examined, he had never seen a mindscape such as this.

Inoichi started making his way through the metal debris, trying to find something of importants. There was always a particular place memories were stored that usually took the shape of a pool, or a pond, or even a library, but as he looked around he doubted he'd find any of those thing. After a while he came across a building not made of metal. It was an old, wooden church. It looked pretty run down with holes in the ceiling and several windows missing.

Deciding that it looked important enough, he headed towards it, pushing the squeaky door open once he got there. The inside of the church seemed just as worn down as the outside. Half the pews were missing along with whatever used to be on the alter. There was even a large hole in the floor where a bunch of yellow flowers were growing. In the middle of the flowerbed was Minato.

He was facing away from the door but Inoichi could still tell he looked different somehow. His hair was a bit spikier and his clothes weren't the same as what he usually wore. They were all black with no sleeves and excessively baggy pants. He had an armored pad on one shoulder and an empty sword holster on his back. This worried Inoichi a bit, but decided to ignore his doubts and approach him.

"Hey Minato," he called out, causing the other man to turn his head to look at him. "I was wondering where you went. You could have at least met me at the entrance."

"Are you talking to me?" he asked in confusion. Inoichi silently cursed himself out when he remembered that he used the other man's name.

"Uh, yes, I was," Inoichi answered, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry if it confused you. I was trying not to use your name but I guess that didn't work out so well."

"That's not my name."

Inoichi stared at him as Minato, or the man he knew as Minato, turned himself around to face him.

"It's not?"

"No, my name's Cloud."

"Seriously?" Inoichi asked as he sat at one of the front pews. When the other man nodded he just shook his head. "That's not even close to Minato."

"Do you know what's happening in here?"

"No, that's what I'm here to find out," he answered, leaning forward to observe the other man. "Though one thing's obvious, Minato should be here, but he's not. Instead it's you, someone that looks exactly like Minato but thinks that he isn't. I suppose it's possible that Minato created you to deal with his loss. It's not uncommon for someone to do that when dealing with great psychological trama, particularly the death of loved ones."

"I'm not fake."

"Of course you're not," Inoichi soothed, holding his hands up defensively. He went to continue but was interrupted by the man calling himself Cloud.

"I wasn't created. I was here first."

"What do you mean?" Cloud hesitated for a moment.

"I'm not sure. But I was Cloud to start. Then I was Minato but now I'm Cloud again. It's a little more confusing than that, at least when I'm awake."

"What makes it different?" Inoichi asked, keeping quiet about his own opinions.

"I have a hard time figuring out whose memories are whose. In here, they're all laid out in front of me."

He gestured towards the flowers, making Inoichi take a closer look at them. Each flower had a memory playing itself out on the petals. Many of them were clearly Minato's, like one where he was being tackled by a very excited Kushina, and another of trying to herd his three friends away from the bar. But then there were several that weren't, like buying flowers from a pretty saleswoman, and a spikey, black-haired man holding out a large sword.

The last one seemed oddly familiar to him for some reason. He continued watching it as the man silently spoke to the sword's recipient. He was able to pick out only one word, 'legacy'. It was all he needed to remind him of what Minato said a month ago.

"_It was a man with spikey black hair saying something along the lines of 'you are my living legacy'."_ Yeah, that was it. He was talking about how he kept seeing these people he never met before. That would mean Inoichi was wrong. These memories existed before the Kyuubi incident so this Cloud person had to have as well. This brought up a new, more immediate question, where's Minato?

"Are you alright?" Cloud asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, just thinking though a few things," Inoichi answered lightly before switching back to the subject at hand. "So you don't remember what happens in here when you're awake, do you."

It wasn't really a question but Cloud shook his head regardless.

"Don't worry, it's normal. You tend to have to have training in order to remember that. How much do you remember when your conscious?"

"I'm not sure, it gets all jumbled. I don't know whether it's real or fake, Minato's or mine."

"That sounds about right. Why isn't Minato around to help you?"

"Gone." Inoichi stared at the other man in surprise. "That sealing jutsu, I think. It took his soul as payment but left mine."

Inoichi was silent as he leaned back against the bench and closed his eyes to sift through this new information. Once what was said finally processed, he had to pinch the bridge of his nose in order to keep himself calm. He couldn't let Cloud see how much this new information hurt him. It was unprofessional. He was here to help this person find themselves, no matter who it turned out to be.

"He was your friend, right?"

"Yeah," he answered quietly.

"I'm sorry." Inoichi peaked at him before waving the apology away and sitting straight once again.

"No need to be. Anyways, do you know how you ended up in Minato's body?"

"His soul ended up in mine. I was here first so this body must be mine."

"I guess. But then how did Minato's soul end up controlling your body?"

"Not sure," Cloud said after a moment of thought. "Not right now at least."

"Alright," Inoichi said with a sigh. He climbed to his feet causing the other blond to have to crane his neck to look at him. "Since anything else I ask will probably end with the answer 'I don't know,' I should be going."

"Could you not tell me any of this?" he gave Cloud a confused look.

"Why not?"

"I need to figure all this out for myself."

"Alright, I won't tell the hokage either. I'll just say that there's nothing I can do," Inoichi told him with a friendly smile. "It will give you time to work through everything."

He nodded before turning back around to his original position, which Inoichi could now see that he was actually studying the flowers. He touched each one in turn, keeping contact for a bit before switching to the next. It confused Inoichi for a moment before he figured that there had to be some way to get sound, why not simply by touching it?

"Hey Cloud," he called back, making him look back at him once again. "Good luck."

"Thanks."  
>-x-<p>

When Inoichi woke up, his neck was stiff from it hyperextending itself over the back of the chair. He sat up, rubbing the back of his neck to get rid of some of the ache. As he did this he saw the other man blinking as he awoke as well.

Now that Inoichi knew he wasn't Minato it was a lot easier to see the physical differences. Yes, he was very similar to his late friend and commander, but he was not, by far, a carbon copy. His eyes were just a tad too large, his hair was a shade too light, and while Minato's blind mop tended up stick straight up, this man's was naturally angled towards the left side of his face. Cloud was right, this really was his body to start with.

"So?" the oblivious man asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah." He shook himself out of his revelry and got to his feet. "Unfortunately, in your case there's nothing I can do. Your problem is something you're going to have to work out for yourself."

"But…" he looked confused as Inoichi tried to explain further.

"Whatever I'd do, it'd only make you more confused in the end. You'll have a better chance of recovering your memories on your own."

"Ok."

He sounded unconvinced but Inoichi didn't stick around to change that. After all he would work through it whether he believed him or not. He just didn't have the time to sit around and convince someone into doing something they're just going to do anyways. His own mind was in too much turmoil to help anyone anyways. He guessed he had some stuff of his own to work through.

"I'm sorry I can't do more," he said turning away. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too?" he said, but Inoichi was already out the door.

The Third was still there, waiting for Inoichi's report.

"What did you find out?"

"I can't do anything," he said simply. "This is something he has to do on his own. And before you ask, yes I'm sure. Just leave him be and don't pressure him. If you need me for anything else, I'll be at home spending time with my wife and daughter."

"But, what about Minato?" Inoichi hesitated, trying to find the right words.

"Minato doesn't need my help anymore," he said sadly as he turned away from his superior and left.


	4. Chapter 3

Hey everyone, it's me again. Thanks again for all the reviews. I'm going to try to respond to questions any of you leave in the reviews. I don't normally do this but I'm trying to be a little more interactive so if you have questions about the story I'll try to answer them for you...as long as it doesn't involve spoilers.

In response to Suzululu4moe, no I don't think Inner Sakura would count as a second soul. I think that's more a conflict between her born personality (inner sakura) and the personality she acquired through social interactions. Though it would be intreagueing if she did. :) And to Kaleesh, yes the church does show up in the movie several times. It's also a prominent structure in most of the FF7 games as well (at least in the original and Crisis Core). That's why I thought it was appropriate for the mind scape.:)

Also, I'm going to warn you now that my next chapter might be late for several reasons. For one, I have been challenged by a friend of mine to finish a short story before winter break is over. Unfortunately reading through what I had already written made me realize that I'm going to have to rewrite most of it. It's a fun story so I'm not complaining but that means I'm putting my other stories on the back burner for now, which includes this one. But I'm also having trouble figuring out what's going to happen in the short term aspect of this story. I have two options really, either skip most of the next three years and only include the important stuff, or lengthen it so that those three years become a main arc for the story. Right now I could go either way, so if you have an opinion about it let me know and I'll take it into consideration.

Hope you enjoy,

Trouble 1

ps. Sorry the author note was so long.  
>~~~~~~~~<p>

**Chapter 3**

"Sandaime-sama?" the secretary called as she peaked through the door making said man sigh.

"Yes? What is it?" he asked, looking up from his paperwork.

It's been several days since Inoichi's prognosis and nothing had changed except for the longhaired blond's sudden bout of sulking. He was starting to think that he was going to be stuck doing the Hokage paperwork until he died.

"Nurse Nobuyuki is asking for an audience with you. Shall I send her in?"

"Yes, of course," he put down his pen in order to give his full attention towards the nurse in charge of Minato's care.

"Hello sir," Nurse Nobuyuki bowed to him once she was in the room.

"How is Minato? Has anything changed?" he asked, cutting straight to the point.

"Well, his physical injuries are fully healed. If it was just those then I'd have him released but his memories still haven't been recovered. In fact, he hasn't even shown signs of improvement."

The sandaime sighed, running his fingers through his thinning hair. He was getting too old for this.

"Alright," he said, turning his attention back towards her. "Is that all?"

"No sir," she answered. "I'm actually here because he's requesting to see you."

"Me? I thought you said he hasn't remembered anything."

"He hasn't. He didn't ask for you by name, he said he wanted to talk to Inoichi's superior about something. When I asked which one, he said whichever one was standing outside the door when he visited."

"Ok," he said, mostly to himself. "I have some time so I'll just head over there now."

"Actually sir, he came with me," Sarutobi gave her a curious look, urging her to continue. "We thought that walking around town might help him remember but it didn't really work. The only thing that changed was that he wanted to see you."

"Let him in." She nodded before opening the door and motioning for the blond to enter.

He was wearing hospital clothes just like the last time he saw him. The only difference was this time he had on slippers and a hooded cloak, which was probably used to hide his identity during his stroll around town.

"Hello," Sarutobi greeted as he dismissed the nurse with a wave of his hand. "I heard you wanted to see me."

"Are you Inoichi-san's superior?"

"I am."

"Good." He was silent for a moment before continuing. "You're not his direct superior, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I'm the person in charge of the village at the moment."

"So, does that make you the guy to talk to about leaving?"

"The hospital? Well, you're physically fine but the doctors are a bit worried about your mental state so I'd have you talk to them…"

"Um no. I mean this place entirely."

"Wait, are you talking about the village?" The blond nodded, surprising Sarutobi. "Why would you want to leave Konoha? This is your home, seeing familiar scenery will help you remember your past."

"It didn't work. In fact, it doesn't feel…right."

"This type of thing takes time."

"I, just don't feel comfortable here. I think I need figure things out on my own."

Sarutobi placed his head in his hands as he massaged his temple.

"Alright," he said slowly. "But don't leave just yet. I'm still not sure if this is a good idea."

"But—"

"Let me talk to Inoichi-san before you do anything rash. If he thinks it's a good idea…I'll consider it."

"Can you call him now?"

Again the Sandaime was speechless. He thought maybe he was kidding, but the look on the blond's face was so serious that it left no room for miscommunication.

"I'll see what I can do but he's on leave at the moment," he said, signaling to one of his ANBU. "He just had a baby so he might not want to come in again."

"I'll wait."

Sarutobi nodded in response, turning back to the paperwork as he waited. It was five minutes before the Yamanaka made an appearance. He looked exhausted as he shuffled in the room, his eyes half closed. The old hokage chuckled lightly, remembering his own days of parenthood.

"I see you're enjoying your new parent status," Sarutobi said lightly.

"She cries a lot."

"That's what newborns do."

"Shikamaru doesn't cry this much," he muttered. "She wants attention 24/7 and won't stop crying till she gets it."

"Good luck with that," Sarutobi said with a smile. "Anyways, I only called you in as a medical consultant so you should be able to get back relatively soon."

Inoichi didn't react one way or another at the news. He seemed too exhausted to do so.

"What am I consulting on?" he asked. The Sandaime glanced at the quiet blond before looking back at Inoichi. It took a few extra moments for him to realize that there was someone else in the room. "Oh, hi."

Minato nodded to him as he watched Inoichi with a faint interest.

"So what, exactly, am I here for?"

"He wants to know if he can leave the village. I told him that I wanted your opinion on the matter before I made a decision."

Inoichi stayed silent for a moment as sat down in one of the chairs.

"I'm guessing this isn't a spur of the moment decision?"

"No," Minato answered. "I need to look for my own answers."

"Answers you can't find here?" Minato nodded in response, making Inoichi think again. "Do you think you'll be alright on your own? It's not like you can remember who to avoid."

"I can fight, I'm sure."

"Alright," he said, turning back towards the Sandaime. "I think you should let him go. He obviously needs time alone."

"Is it absolutely necessary?"

"If you want him to recover, then yes," Inoichi said flatly. "You _could_ keep him locked in the village. He might recover on his own, he might not. But do you really want to risk it?"

Sarutobi massaged his temples again as the pair waited for an answer. He didn't see how this was absolutely necessary, but if Inoichi agreed with him then there wasn't much he could do.

"You may go," he said finally. "Have Nurse Nobuyuki take you to your apartment. I believe most of it survived."

"Thank you." Minato bowed slightly in gratitude before leaving the room to meet up with the nurse.

"Are you sure about this Yamanaka-san?" the Sandaime asked once he was out of the room.

"Yes sir. I think the pressure of us wanting him to remember is too much for him," he explained as he got up from his own seat. "You can't force memories to return, you just have to let them come back naturally. I'm sure this journey will allow them to do so."

"Thank you," Sarutobi said, picking up his pen yet again. "You may go now."

Inoichi had his hand on the doorknob when he hesitated, seeming to remember something as he turned back towards the stand in Kage.

"Sir, if I may ask, what happened to Minato's kid?"

Sarutobi looked up in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Kushina should have had her baby by the time of the attack. I was just wondering, with her death and Minato's memory problems, what you were going to do about it," Inoichi explained. He paused for a moment, as if something dawned on him. "What gender is the baby anyways?"

"It was a boy. But unfortunately there's nothing I _can _do. He died in the attack alongside his mother," Sarutobi said sadly.

As Inoichi processed this information the Sandaime moved some of the orphanage applications, hiding one with a picture of a blond, whiskered infant paper clipped to it. He felt horrible hiding the boy, but with Minato gone how else was he supposed to keep the child safe? It was best that the world didn't know about young Naruto until his father was well enough to take care of him.

"That can't be right."

"It is, sadly."

There was silence as he coped with this. No doubt the young father was putting himself in Minato's shoes, unwillingly imagining what he'd feel if his own wife and child died in front of him that day. Inoichi shook his head and turned back towards the door. He was halfway out when the Sandaime heard him mutter,

"Maybe it'd be better if he never remembers at all."

-x-

"Are you all set?" Inoichi asked as stood in front of the village gate the next day.

Minato had requested that Inoichi would see him off that morning since he was the only person he seemed to know. It was still too early for there to be a lot of people out but the ones that did seemed to stare in confusion.

"I believe so," Minato answered as he fiddled with his sleeves.

He kept pulling at them as if they were uncomfortable even though the clothes were just like what he normally dressed in. Inoichi had little doubt that they would be removed sometime soon, making it more similar to what he wore in his mindscape. He supposed that this was just one more sign that he was no longer the blond he once knew. Even though he knew that he was no longer Minato, he thought it was easier to refer to him as such until he remembered his own name.

"Spare clothes, money, a cloak?"

"Yes. All of those. And a bed roll," he said, giving Inoichi a strange look.

"I know I'm nagging but I'm just making sure you're all set."

"As a medical doctor?"

"As a friend," Inoichi answered, earning a nod from Minato.

"Alright," he said, hesitating a moment before offering his hand out towards the other man. "Then thank you."

"You're welcome," Inoichi said, smiling as he shook his hand. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Me too. Take care."

"You too." Inoichi released his hand and letting the man go about his way.


End file.
